It was not istanbul. I am 32 years old and i didnt see these police cars in Istanbul :) They were tried to show the Turks as Arabs... I didnt like it!
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user3238Oct 20 '12 at 21:22

I was looking forward to seeing Taken2 but was utterly disappointed by how it tried to portray Turks as Arabs. All the women showed in the film were wearing burcas. There was not a single Turkish woman dressed in western clothes. That is not modern Turkish women. Also there was a several shots of Blue Mosque and the old part of Istanbul. I can't understand why the producer couldn't show beautiful parts of Istanbul and the modern side of Turkey. Istanbul is a must-see city with lots of history and culture. Turkey is a Muslim country and we are proud to be Muslims, however, I strongly object to
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user3268Oct 23 '12 at 22:54

2 Answers
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Neesson during a roundtable interview with a number of other journalists. During the group interview Neeson talked about how the sequel came together, what it was like filming in Istanbul. They set it in Istanbul and he thought, ok that’s certainly one city I would love to see.

What surprised you the most about working in Istanbul? Either the
under the circumstances of working there or also seeing some of the
sights in your free time.

NEESON: Well, its- I’ve read so much about Constantinople as it used
to be from when I was doing Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, you
know? Because it is the gateway from the west to the east and there’s
so many generations of conquests. And you see it in the streets
there, you see foundation stones that were laid by, not just the
Romans, the Romans were only 2000 years ago, but generations thousands
of years ago, you know? So it such a rich incredible historical
culture, and you feel it. And I think it adds something to our film,
it just gives it a texture. All those car scenes we were doing, those
car chases and stuff, you know, yes we had a police presence, but the
shopkeepers, merchants on these tiny, narrow streets said, “No, no,
no; you shoot your film, but we’re keeping our shops open.” So you’d
have customers crossing streets all the time, they weren’t extras, and
we’re barreling up these streets in Mercedes Benz’s at reckless
speeds.

Yes, definitely. You can see the Galata bridge (which connects Eminönü and Karaköy) very often, and the Eminönü district in the background with its Mosques..e.g. when they are on the ferryboat..and there will be also a guy selling Turkish tea on those ferryboats (www.sehirhatlari.com.tr). But I actually never saw a Mercedes cab there, and I think they used retired police cars - but the car chase itself was in Istanbul, too.